The Wars on Drugs and Terror: mirror images

In Glenn Greenwald's editorial entitled The Wars on Drugs and Terror: mirror images, he talks about Proposition 19; a bill that will be voted on in November, which for the most part would legalize marijuana in California. He also compares the "War on Drugs" to the "War on Terror" stating "...the War on Drugs is a mirror image of the War on Terror:  sustained with the same deceitful propaganda, driven by many of the same motives, prosecuted with similar templates, and destructive in many of the same ways.". His argument is that the War on Drugs, like the War on Terror, is nothing short of a failure and he states that "Both wars ensure an unlimited stream of massive amounts of money into the private war-making industries which fuel them." He also says, "Both wars rely upon cartoon depictions of Scary Villains (The Drug Kingpin, Mexican Cartels, the Terrorist Mastermind) to keep the population in a state of heightened fear and thus blind them to rational discourse.  But both wars are not only complete failures in eradicating those villains, but they both do more to empower those very villains than any other single cause -- the War on Drugs by ensuring that cartels’ profits from the illegal drug trade remain sky-high, and the War on Terror by ensuring more and more support and recruits for anti-American extremists."

I would have to say that I just about completely agree with everything he has to say in this article. For years now I have thought the War on Drugs was not only a waste of tax payer's money, but a waste of prison space too. I mean, our prisons are so full of non-violent drug offenders it's ridiculous. People locked up along side of rapists and murders for a simple possession charge... I think Proposition 19 is a step in the right direction. He also provides a bit of research to help back his claims. He mentions a comprehensive report he wrote for the Cato Institute discussing his research he did in Portugal in 2008 on "...documenting how decriminalization has single-handedly enabled that country to manage, control and even reduce the problems associated with drug usage far more effectively than other nations (i.e., other EU states and the U.S.) which continue to criminalize drugs.".

With November 2 right around the corner, I would imagine his intended audience would be potential voters. With a background as a lawyer and a civil rights litigator I would imagine he might be slightly more informed on the damages this "War" has caused this country when compared to the average Joe who may be more apt to believe the propaganda that has been associated with it.

I think marijuana should be legalized, or at least decriminalized more than it already is. I've done my fair share of research on the "harmful" effects of marijuana, in fact I even wrote an English paper on it. But without getting into all of that, that's where I stand. I also believe, like Greenwald, that even the harder drugs should be decriminalized. While I don't think heroin or meth should be completely legalized, I believe we should have less harsher punishments, at least when caught with small amounts for personal use. It's sad to see people's lives completely ruined just for being caught with a couple grams of coke, it's truly sickening. I am actually a pre-pharmacy student aiming for a Doctor of Pharmacy and I have spent years researching the effects of various drugs on the human brain and body (mainly recreational drugs, but hey can you blame me, they are the most interesting), and over the years I have found almost everything they taught us in D.A.R.E to be either completely false, or half truths. I suffered from a mild-ish opiate addiction several years ago, so i can somewhat understand where the government is coming from and why they feel it is their duty to "protect" us, but I also believe that people should be able to make their own choices so long as they don't hurt other people.